The course that debuted in 2000 with Formula One has been modified to accommodate IndyCar and MotoGP races, and there is now an ability to close off a section in the north end for car enthusiast events.

IndyCar will use a 2.439-mile circuit for its inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix (May 8-10); MotoGP's course, which travels in the opposite direction and uses a few different corners, will debut Aug. 6-8 with the Red Bull Indianapolis GP.

Fisher, the IndyCar Series team owner and former driver, helped put the finishing touches on the course on a two-seat paving machine.

"They are doing a really accurate job and it's great to see," said Fisher, who made nine Indianapolis 500 starts in her driving career. "That last little stretch of pavement going down on the new course. It's very special."

With a top-speed of 25 feet per minute, the Milestone paver that Fisher rode on travels at a top speed of 25 feet per minutes, far slower than the speeds attained by the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car she owns and operates. An Indy car could complete 336 laps of the track before the paver completed a single lap.

"It's operated by a joystick and no steering wheel, so I didn't know what to do," Fisher said. "There's a big stop button. But it's like the Indy car 2-seater. You just don't push the stop button. You just have to keep going."

The road course has undergone $5 million in improvements. Among the nuances of the work done this fall:

--Turns 1 and 2 of the IndyCar course includes a slight elevation change that officials estimated to be 3 feet.

--Turn 12 of the IndyCar course was an engineering nightmare because the intersection includes the oval track's warmup lane and Turn 4 of the MotoGP circuit.

--In order to accommodate Turn 12, the oval track's warmup lane now has an 8-inch rise to the south chute.

--Several corners have been widened to 46 feet for a better flow, with the area behind the IMS Hall of Fame Museum opened up. The section of oval track used is 50 feet wide.

Contributing: Staff reports

Cavin also writes for The Indianapolis Star. Follow him on Twitter @curtcavin